Peter "Sana" Ojeda, who authorities said turned Orange County's "shot caller" for the Mexican Mafia, posed for this prison photo with several leaders of the California-based prison gang. The photo is believed to have been taken in San Quentin prison sometime from 1968 to 1971. Ojeda is lower left. Some others in photo: Top row, far left, Joe "Peg Leg" Morgan; far right, Mike "Poor Slim" Mulhearn. Bottom row, from left, Ojeda; Manuel "Rocky" Luna (now deceased); Robert "Crow" Juarez. FILE

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Hundreds of gangsters crowded around Peter "Sana" Ojeda as he stood like a preacher on a pulpit atop green bleachers in Santa Ana's El Salvador Park. It was a Saturday afternoon in January 1992 and many in attendance were deadly rivals. They were ordered to put aside bad blood.

The 49-year-old Mexican Mafia leader issued a command: No more drive-by shootings.

Gang killings were climbing across Orange County. In 1992, detectives investigated 20 gang homicides in Santa Ana alone. Bringing warring gangs together and having them agree on "rules" seemed impossible, but Ojeda had the reputation, the pull and the power to enforce it.

For decades the Mexican Mafia has controlled Latino street gangs, according to authorities. Through fear and intimidation "La Eme" – Spanish for "The M," for Mafia – has controlled prisons, jails, drug sales and violence by exerting influence over thousands of gangsters in Orange County. The ruthless control starts behind prison walls and, from the early days, it was clear that Orange County belonged to "Sana" Ojeda.

The influence of the Mexican Mafia extends from prisons to county jails to the streets. Though Santa Ana is considered its hub in Orange County – with 100 documented gangs – the group's influence is countywide. Gangs that pledge allegiance often use a "13" – for the 13th letter of the alphabet, M – next to their tagging, according to officials.

The indictment in July was the second racketeering charge Ojeda has faced in the past six years. His attorney, Craig Wilke, said authorities have targeted Ojeda as a "larger-than-life figure."

"They set him up as this all-powerful man responsible for everything that happens in Orange County," Wilke said.

BEGINNING IN 'LA EME'

Born Peter Jess Ojeda in 1942, Ojeda was one of four boys growing up in Santa Ana. His father was a construction worker and his mother was a housewife.

He dropped out of high school after the 11th grade and authorities said that by that time he was already involved in gangs.

When he first entered state prison on a heroin smuggling conviction in 1965, the Mexican Mafia had already evolved into a complex criminal web.

It began in the mid-1950s at Deuel Vocational Institution in Northern California as a way to protect Latino inmates who were outnumbered by whites and blacks. As the number of Latino inmates grew and they organized, the reach and power of the Mexican Mafia expanded.

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Peter "Sana" Ojeda, who authorities said turned Orange County's "shot caller" for the Mexican Mafia, posed for this prison photo with several leaders of the California-based prison gang. The photo is believed to have been taken in San Quentin prison sometime from 1968 to 1971. Ojeda is lower left. Some others in photo: Top row, far left, Joe "Peg Leg" Morgan; far right, Mike "Poor Slim" Mulhearn. Bottom row, from left, Ojeda; Manuel "Rocky" Luna (now deceased); Robert "Crow" Juarez. FILE
Peter Ojeda, who authorities say is a Mexican Mafia leader, addresses a group of street gang members during a meeting at El Salvador Park in Santa Ana in 1992. Ojeda is believed to have ordered the gangs to stop drive-by shootings. FILE
Peter Ojeda talks to gang members in a Santa Ana park during the summer of 1992. Ojeda was one of several people who organized a peace between several Latino gangs in Orange County, but law enforcement officials claim it was a ruse to tighten the hold of the Mexican Mafia. THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Photographs of Orange County Jail inmates, who authorities say were attacked by Mexican Mafia members for defying a gang order to not talk to a television station about the gang, were on display at the Santa Ana Police Department on July 13. A news conference was held to announce the arrest of 99 people during a crackdown on the Mexican Mafia. BRUCE CHAMBERS, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Prisoners are moved in the Santa Ana Police Department headquarters between processing points after being rounded up in a crackdown on Mexican Mafia on July 13. BRUCE CHAMBERS, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Photo of Peter Ojeda taken March 10, 1993.
At a news conference July 13 announcing the results of a large gang sweep in Orange County, Andre Birotte Jr., United States attorney for the central district of California, left, describes the indictments handed down against members of the Mexican Mafia. To the right is a large graphic displaying photos of people arrested in the sweep. BRUCE CHAMBERS, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
A Santa Ana police officer arrives at headquarters with a prisoner after being involved in a multiagency sweep of Orange County to crack down on the Mexican Mafia on July 13. BRUCE CHAMBERS, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
A prisoner waits to be processed at the Santa Ana Police Department during a crackdown on local gangs with ties to the notorious Mexican Mafia. BRUCE CHAMBERS, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Dozens of weapons were confiscated as several law enforcement agencies rounded up suspected members of the Mexican Mafia in Orange County on July 13. BRUCE CHAMBERS, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Dozens of weapons were confiscated on July 13 photo as several law enforcement agencies cracked down on the Mexican Mafia. BRUCE CHAMBERS, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
According to authorities, the Orange County faction of the Mexican Mafia is headed by Peter Ojeda, center, seen in photographs displayed at a news conference announcing the results of a major gang sweep called Operation Black Flag. BRUCE CHAMBERS, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
A prisoner is escorted into the processing area at the Santa Ana Police Department during a crackdown on local gangs with ties to the notorious Mexican Mafia. BRUCE CHAMBERS, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Peter Ojeda, 68, is in a federal prison. SANTA ANA POLICE DEPARTMENT
Santa Ana police officers arrive at Santa Ana police headquarters with a prisoner during a sweep of arrests on local gangs with ties to the notorious Mexican Mafia. BRUCE CHAMBERS, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
A Santa Ana police officer keeps tabs on his weapon while manning the entrance to the prisoner processing area. BRUCE CHAMBERS, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Prisoners were processed July 13 in the garage area of Santa Ana police headquarters. The investigation was a multiagency sweep of the Mexican Mafia and affiliates here in Orange County, said Laura Eimiller, spokeswoman for the FBI. Close to 100 people are being charged with state and federal charges. BRUCE CHAMBERS, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Photo of Pete Ojeda taken on July 10, 1981.
Peter Ojeda, 63, accused of running a faction of the Mexican Mafia.
A prisoner is escorted into the processing area at the Santa Ana Police Department during a crackdown on local gangs with ties to the notorious Mexican Mafia. BRUCE CHAMBERS, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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